An old man, going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned, when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.
"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near,
"You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide-
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"
The builder lifted his old gray head:
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
"There followeth after me today
A youth, whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm, that has been naught to me,
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."
Will Allen Dromgoole was a woman who was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She wrote over 7,500 poems, 5,000 essays, and published thirteen books.
I never knew of or met the folks on #9 of the list.
Eddie and Donna ran a twig in Columbus, Ohio for decades. They were in one of the very first classes, in the 1950s. I personally knew them. They were genuinely caring people. I don't think they really knew about the depravity that was going on at HQ. Or, maybe they just didn't believe it was true. It's hard to say. I also noticed Ray and Vera Kaderly, from New Lyme, Ohio, are missing.
An old man, going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned, when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.
"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near,
"You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide-
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"
The builder lifted his old gray head:
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
"There followeth after me today
A youth, whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm, that has been naught to me,
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."
Will Allen Dromgoole was a woman who was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She wrote over 7,500 poems, 5,000 essays, and published thirteen books.
As soon as I arrive to my house I'll check the book and tell you.
I think that most of these people mentioned in the book were good people what had a heart for God, however at some point they became enablers of what happened "backstage".
I'd agree with you on this.
Well, Don Wierwille didn't have much choice, having been born to VPW, but he did walk away at one point. When he returned, maybe he had ideas about doing something good but got squashed by his father.
"Thousands of people have come to know God and His Word through The Way International and yet may not have a knowledge of the work and believing it took to build the ministry. This book presents a snapshot of a few of the original “bridge builders” of The Way. Reading it, you will grow in appreciation for the commitment, the selflessness, and the labor of love and believing that these men and women invested. Their stand has enabled each of us to receive the rightly divided Word and to enjoy the fellowship of like-minded believers as we live according to God’s Word today
Dorothea Wierwille
Don and Wanda Wierwille
Harry and Naomi Wierwille
Rhoda Wierwille
Mal and Jan George
Howard Allen
Emogene Allen
George and Bernita Jess
Eddie and Donna Doersam "
A friend of mine gave me this one as a gift, if anyone is interested in the content. Just let me know.
I think that most of these people mentioned in the book were good people what had a heart for God, however at some point they became enablers of what happened "backstage".
If you've read Undertow, you know I was involved with TWI from 1970-1987 and knew those folks back then. Yes, they were good hearted. I worked with Bernita Jess, who was kind to me, for many years. I agree they were enablers, maybe some more than others, depending on how close they were to VWP. Intersting that Donna Rand*ll is not on this list! She was VPW's personal research secretary from the early days, helped when they filmed PFAL, and worked at HQ when I was in the Corps 1971-1973, and at PFAL '77 for the filming of that class, I was assigned to be her assistant, although I didn't do very much.
So she was loyal from the beginning of the organization. She and her husband, Gene, lived in a trailer on HQ grounds for years. One of her daughters married VPW's nephew. She broke away from TWI around the time I did, in 1987 ish. She had been very close to VPW and I'll bet she knew a lot of dirt.
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WordWolf
I have a question about the content.
I'm curious if they included the poem, "the Bridge Builder," by Ms Will Allen Dromgoole, and, if they did, did they include her name?
I'm thinking they didn't include it, even though it was the reason they picked that name for the book.
Personally, I quoted the poem once on the GSC, when someone asked why we post, warning about twi.
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WordWolf
https://allpoetry.com/The-Bridge-Builder
The Bridge Builder
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned, when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.
"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near,
"You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide-
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"
The builder lifted his old gray head:
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
"There followeth after me today
A youth, whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm, that has been naught to me,
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."
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waysider
I'm left wondering why Ermal and Dorothy Owens didn't make the list.
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oldiesman
You're right that's strange, they were prominent in the early years.
Here's a book by Dorothy Owens: https://store.theway.org/store/just-the-way-it-was/
I never knew of or met the folks on #9 of the list.
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waysider
Eddie and Donna ran a twig in Columbus, Ohio for decades. They were in one of the very first classes, in the 1950s. I personally knew them. They were genuinely caring people. I don't think they really knew about the depravity that was going on at HQ. Or, maybe they just didn't believe it was true. It's hard to say. I also noticed Ray and Vera Kaderly, from New Lyme, Ohio, are missing.
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Joe Maslow
As soon as I arrive to my house I'll check the book and tell you.
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Twinky
I'd agree with you on this.
Well, Don Wierwille didn't have much choice, having been born to VPW, but he did walk away at one point. When he returned, maybe he had ideas about doing something good but got squashed by his father.
The others walked into it with eyes wide open.
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frank123lol
I met the Georges in 99 The Jess's seperatly Bernita was in Mi for several years, I drove her around the area.
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penworks
If you've read Undertow, you know I was involved with TWI from 1970-1987 and knew those folks back then. Yes, they were good hearted. I worked with Bernita Jess, who was kind to me, for many years. I agree they were enablers, maybe some more than others, depending on how close they were to VWP. Intersting that Donna Rand*ll is not on this list! She was VPW's personal research secretary from the early days, helped when they filmed PFAL, and worked at HQ when I was in the Corps 1971-1973, and at PFAL '77 for the filming of that class, I was assigned to be her assistant, although I didn't do very much.
So she was loyal from the beginning of the organization. She and her husband, Gene, lived in a trailer on HQ grounds for years. One of her daughters married VPW's nephew. She broke away from TWI around the time I did, in 1987 ish. She had been very close to VPW and I'll bet she knew a lot of dirt.
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waysider
Might that be the reason for her omission?
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